Apple released iOS 5 Beta 5 over the weekend, along with a handful of related bits and pieces, including the ability for developers to migrate their MobileMe accounts to the forthcoming iCloud right now -- which has uncovered some unpleasant news for those who use some of the more obscure sync features in MobileMe.

I have a MacBook Pro with an Intel Core Duo processor, so I won’t be able to upgrade to Lion. Will I be able to use iCloud on my older laptop running Snow Leopard? What’s going to happen to the stuff I have stored on iDisk? And what about webmail?

After demoing the MobileMe replacement, iCloud at the World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) earlier this summer, we've been eagerly awaiting a chance to play with the service. Earlier this week, the company launched the web-based version of iCloud beta. However, there is still some confusion about how to register for this service, we’ll show you the steps required to convert your Apple ID into an iCloud-ready account.

Apple released the beta version of iCloud last night for developers and with it unveiled the pricing for additional iCloud storage. iCloud will come with 5 GB of storage for free, which we knew; however, you know and we know and Cupertino knows that 5 GB is not going to cut it for everyone. Apple had been hinting that additional storage space would be available -- for a price. Now we know what those prices are, and how they compare.

iCloud will store and back up your music, photos, apps, calenders, documents and more. Apple is fronting you 5 GB on the house. If When you need more storage space, here is what you will pay...

Sorry, did I get you all excited there for a second? Look, forgive me. I just got so excited! iCloud beta and iCloud Storage APIs are up for developers who are ready to start, um, developing! Guys and gals who code, start making those apps to push documents up to the cloud, and to infinity and beyond!

Apple kicked off the month of August with a new update for the company’s eternal living room “hobby,” the Apple TV, with a 4.3 update that finally allows the streaming of purchased television shows -- both those purchased from the tiny box as well as those bought in the past. Here’s a look at this and other new features.

It appears iCloud is starting to happen. iOS 4.3.3 firmware update for Apple TV went live a few minutes ago, and it quietly delivers some very cool features. The update adds support for the video hosting service Vimeo, which is cool, but here is the big wow: you can now buy TV shows through Apple TV, instead of just renting them.

Since the Apple TV has negligible built-in storage, when you purchase a TV show through the set-top box, it is presumably streaming to you from a cloud-based storage locker. Which is full of awesome.

Apple released new information today regarding the pending transition from MobileMe to iCloud. Finally, we know which services will be continued and which will be terminated with extreme prejudice. According to Apple, "The core services provided by MobileMe have been rewritten to work seamlessly with iCloud." The key word there is "core", which is not the same as "all".

WWDC 2011 is now just a memory, but iOS device owners have a lot to look forward to this fall with iCloud and the new iOS 5. More importantly, these offerings may offer clues as to what we can expect from the next iPhone, which is widely rumored to debut with the new mobile operating system in September.